Clean-out ferrule for drain or soil pipes.



P. MUELLER. CLEAN-OUT FERRULE FOR DRAIN OR SOIL PIPES. APPLICATION FILEDJULY8, 1912.

LQ SUfiQSO v Patented May 6,1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 lvwewboz P. MUELLER.

CLEAN-OUT FERRULE FOR DRAIN OR SOIL PIPES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8, 1912 l,60,693 Patented May 6,1913.

2 SHEETSSHBET 2.

EIE Em 61% unf V II/ 'UNTED STATEEATENT OFFICE.

PHILIP MUELLER, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO H. MIl'ELLER MFG. 00.,0F DECATUR, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

CLEAN-OUT FERRULE FOR DRAIN OR SOIL PIPES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 6, 1913.

Application filed July 8,1912. Serial No. 708,290.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PHILIP MUELLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Decatur, in the county of Macon and State of Illinois, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Clean-Out Ferrules for Drain orSoil Pipes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to cap closures and means for holdingthem in place, and particularly to closures for cleanout ferrules asapplied to drain and other pipes.

In practice, clain-out ferrules and other parts to be covered are madeWith closure caps screwed directly thereinto or through the medium of abolt and yoke which, in order to get a tightjoint between the closureand the part to be closed, require machining or other means of fitting,and, unless the several parts are carefully made and fitted it issometimes difl'icult to place the closures properly over the openings sothat the bolts will aline with the threaded bolt holes.

The object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a closure with adepending fastening bolt which can always be screwed into the threadedhole in a nut provided for it irrespective of any slight irregularitiesin, or lack of parallelism between the seats for the closure and the nutcarrier. This object I attai by mounting either the bolt or the nuttherefor on a seat of such shape that one or the other may move on itssup port to bring their respective axes in line and so retain them,notwithstanding the lack of parallelism between their respectivesupports, while being screwed together.

In the accompanying drawing which is illustrative only of the inventionand shows it applied to a clean-out ferrule and its closure; Figure 1 isa vertical sectional view of a clean-out ferrule and its cap closuresecured in place bv the improved fastening. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan viewof the cap closure. Fig. 3 is a top View of a detail of the invention.Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view showing a modification of thefastening. Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the modification shown in Fig. 4.Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing another modification of theinvention. Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the closure illustrated in.Fig.6. Fig. 8 is a sectional view of still another modified form of theinvention. Fig. 9 is a bottom View of the bridge piece or crossbar usedwith the modified type of the device illustrated in Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is asectional view illustrating a different manner of flexibly joining thefastening bolt to the cover plate of the closure. Fig. 11 is a similarview of a portion of the cap closure and the fastening bolt illustratedin Fig. 10 in position for use.

In the drawing, A designates a clean-out ferrule of known type and B itscap closure comprising a plate 10, preferably circular, formed with ashouldered edge to engage the top of the ferrule A and a lug 11projecting upwardly from the center of the plate 10 which lug-ispreferably of polygonal shape to receive a tool for rotating theclosure. In the under side'of the plate 10 beneath the lug 11 is acircular recess 12, threaded to recelve a bolt sustaining member 13which is screwed tightly in said recess. Continuous with the recess 12within the plate 10 is a smaller circular recess 19 formed withoppositely placed indentations 19f for a purpose to be described later.\Vithin the member 13 and opening upwardly is a concave seat ordepression 14 from the bottom of which a round hole 15 extends throughthe member 13 for the passage of a bolt 16 by means of which the capclosure B is held in place on the ferrule. Projecting diametrically fromthe head 17 of the bolt on opposite sides are two lugs 18 which enterthe lateral indentations 19, continuous with the smaller circular recess19, which grasp the lugs and rotate the bolt when the closure. isturned. The floor of the depression 14 isconcave as previously stated toform a seat for the compleinentarily curved under side of the bolt head17 and its lugs 18, so that the bolt may rock to a limited extent in anydirection, the head of the bolt fitting loosely in its seat and in therecess 19 to permit this. The end 16" of the bolt 16 is preferablyreduced in diameter and upset or spread, to prevent the nut 22 andbridge piece 21 from running off the thread and dropping into the pipebelow the ferrule, or a washer 27 may be riveted on the end of the bolt,see Fig. 6.

\Vithin the ferrule A, below its upper edge and oppositely disposed withrelation to each other are two studs 20 against the under sides orshoulders of which the ends of a bridge piece or cross bar 21 bear, saidbridge preferably having lnserted therein a nut 22, made of anon-corrodible material, such as brass, into ivhiclrthe. bolt 16 isscrewed to hold the closure in. lace. The nut 22 may be inserted in thebri ge or crossbar 21 after the latter has been cast, or it may beplaced in the mold and the metal forming the bridge poured around it,lugs 0r serrations 22 on the outside of the nut prevent it rotating inthe bridge. The

threaded opening may, if desired, be formed directly in the bridge orcross bar and the nut omitted, the bolt in this instance being made of anon-corrodible metal.

The closure B is secured inplace on the ferrule by running the cross-bar21 downwardly on the bolt suificiently far to permit the cross-bardropping below the studs '20 when placed in the ferrule and before theclosure is seated. The closure or bolt is then turned until the bridgepassing beneath the studs 20, abuts against stops 23 on the sides of thestuds and holds the bridge piece beneath the same. The closure and'boltare now rotated until the closure bears firmly on the top of the ferruleA and the bridge against the bottom or shoulders of the studs 20. Shouldthe studs not be parallel with the top of the ferrule A and cause thebridge to tilt slightly, the bolt 16, because of its rocking oruniversal connection with the closure, will swing out of the axial lineof the ferrule sufliciently far to compensate for the lack ofparallelism and can be screwed into v the nut 22 without applying undueforce. A

yielding washer 24 is placed between the nut 22 and the bolt sustainingmember 13.

Instead of movably connecting the bolt to the closure B it may be fixedtherein as shown in Fig. 4. In this form of the invention the bolt 16has its head 17 rigidly affixed in a socket in the closure B orconnected thereto by-molding the metal around said head while the boltis in the mold. The bridge 21 has a recess 25 in its underside toreceive a nut 22 fitting loosely therein, the top of which isspherically formed to bear against the concave upper surface of saidre-' cess. A hole 26 is formed through the bridge piece from the recess,through which the bolt 16 passes to.engage the nut. To

. prevent the nut dropping off the bolt 16 when unscrewed, a spider orwasher 27 is fastened on the end of said bolt as indicated. This form ofclosure is secured in place in the same manner as the preferred form,the nut 22", however, rocking on its seat instead of the bolt head toany irregularities. It can be easily understood how both bolt and nutmay be made movable by merely substituting the yoke 21 and nut 22 forthe yoke 21 with its fixed nut, in the form of the invention representedin Fig. 1.

Another modification of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7,and as there shown the clean-out ferrule A is covered by rotated and atthe same time because of the manner of seating the collar 17 in theclosure the screw 16 may swing laterally in any direction about the axisof the closure. To provide a gas, air or water ti ht joint between theclosure B and the col ar 17, an annular concentric recess 30 is machinedor cast in the closure concentric with the opening 28 and opening intothe concave depression 29. Within this recess is placed an annulargasket or rubber or other suitable material 31 against which the collar17 bears when the screw is tightened and thus forms a perfectly tightjoint. Screw threaded on the bolt 16 is a nut 22 mounted in a bridgepiece 21 similar to that shown in Fig. 1, between which nut and theunderside.of the closure is a rubber gasket 24 which surrounds the screwand such portion of its thread as may project above the washer and formsthereby a fluid tight casing for the thread to prevent corrosion by gasor water. The clean-out ferrule A is provided interiorly with studs 20and stops 23 against which the bridge piece 21 bears when the screw isrotated to seat the closure in place on the ferrule in a manner similarto that hereinabove described. A washer 27 is shown attached to thereduced lower end of the screw 16 to prevent the nut 22 and bridge piece21 dropping off should the screw 'be turned too far.

The modification illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 shows a central opening 32in the closure B for the passage of the screw 16 said opening beingcounterbored on its exterior side as at 33 into which the circular lowerpart 34 of the head 17 enters for the purpose of compressing an annulargasket seated in the counterbore to form a fluid tight joint between thegasket and the screw. The screw 16 is threaded into a nut 22 seated in arecess 25 on the underside of the bridge piece 21 in a manner similar tothat shown in Fig. 4. The top of the nut 22 is convex and bears againstthe top of the recess 25 which is made concave to form a seat for thetop of-t-henut. An opening 26 extends throughthe bridge 21 for thepassageof the screw 16. As in the other forms of the device a rubbergasket surrounds the screw 16 between the closure and the bridge 21which is compressed when the screw is turned to prevent gas or waterfrom reaching the screw and corroding the same.

A further modification of the invention is set forth in Figs. 10 and 11.In this fdrm of the invention the fastening bolt 16 is formed with aconvex shoulder 17" below its head, said head and shoulder fittingloosely within a socket 19 formed in-the under side of the cover plate10 or within a boss 50 projecting from the under side of said coverplate. The side walls of the socket 19 are shaped to conform with thehead of the bolt 16 so as to rotate the bolt when the plate is turned,the'socket, how.- ever, is made slightly larger so that the head ofthebolt may rock therein. The bottom of the socket 14 is concaved and ofthe same radius as the shoulder 17" which latter bears on the concavebottom to enable the cover plate and bolt to rock relatively to eachother. To place the head of the bolt within the socket 19, the bolthead, shoulder 17 and a short length of the'stem of the bolt are coveredwith a thin layer 51 of molding sand or other suitable material,

and said parts inserted in the mold wherein the cover plate is formedbefore the latter is cast. After the metal has been poured and the plateremoved from the mold the latter and the bolt will present theappearance represented in Fig. 10. It is only necessary to break away orremove the molding sand or other material 51 which will let the shoulder17 fall on the concave surface 14 as in Fig. 11. It is to be understoodthat the sand or other material 51 placed around the bolt head will bein a thin layer, only enough of such material being used as will reventthe melted metal from adhering to the bolt head.

\Vhat I claim is:

1. Combined with an open body and a closure therefor having a circularrecess in its under side and a smaller recess continuous with thecircular recess, a bolt sustaining member screwed into said circularrecess and formed with a concave depression in its upper side, a boltthe head of which is freely fitted into the smaller recess in theclosure and shaped to prevent turning therein, the under surface of thebolt head being convex to permit rocking in the concave depression inthe sustaining member, and means threaded on said bolt to interlock withsaid body for holding the closure in place on the body.

2. Combined with an open body and a closure therefor having a circularrecess in its under side and a smaller recess continuous with thecircular recess, a bolt sustaining member screwed into said circularrecess and formed with a concave depression in its upper side, a boltthe head of which is freely -fitted into the smaller recess in theclosure and provided with radial lugs to engage indentations extendinglaterally from said smaller recess -to prevent independent rotation ofthe bolt, the under surface of the bolt head being convex to permitrocking in the concave depression in the sustaining member, and meansthreaded on said bolt to interlock with said body for holding theclosure in place on the body.

3. Combined with a rotatable closure and an open body to be closed, aheaded bolt having oppositely disposed lateral projections fittingloosely into a similarly shaped recess in said closure, theunder-surface of the'head and said project-ions being sphericallycurved, a bolt sustaining member screwed into said closure below thebolt head and formed with a depression similar in curvature to the underside of the bolt head to permit the bolt to rock therein, and a bridgepiece threaded to receive the bolt and adapted to engage studs withinthe open body to prevent rotation of said bridge piece and lock theclosure in position.

4. A closure for an open body to be closed comprising a plate, athreaded stem carried centrally on one side of said plate and adapted torock in said plate to a limited extent, and to rotate when the plate isturned.

5. A closure for an open body to be closed provided with a central,circular recess on its under side, and a smaller non-circular recesscontinuous therewith, a bolt sustaining member threaded in said circularrecess and provided with a concave depression on its upper side and anopening from said depression through said member, and a bolt extendingthrough said opening formed with a head of similar shape to that of thesmaller recess into which it loosely fits, the underside of said headbeing spherically curved to seat in the concave depression in thesustaining member, whereby said bolt may rock to a limited extent withrespect to the closure but rotate with said closure.

6. A closure for an open body to be closed, said closure provided with asecuring bolt projecting from the side adapted to overlie the body andextend within the same the head of which bolt is mounted in the closureto permit the bolt to swing to a limited extent in any direction aroundthe axis of the closure, and means to lock the bolt against rotationrelative to said closure.

7. A closure for an open body to be closed, said closure provided with asecuring bolt projecting from the side adapted to overlie the body andextend within the same the head of which bolt is mounted in the closureto permit the bolt to swing to a limited extent in any direction aroundthe axis of the closure, lugs on the head of said bolt to engage therecesses in said closure and prevent rotation of said bolt in saidclosure and a fastening means threaded on said bolt adaptedto lie withinand engage the body a and lock the closure in position when one of thethreaded parts is rotated.

8. A closure for clean-out ferrules comprising a cap plate having acentral recess therein provided with a concaved seat and an irregularlyshaped wall, a threaded bolt having its head seated in said recess uponsaid concaved seat and in engagement with said irregular wall to permitrocking of said bolt but hold it against rotation relative to saidplate, and a bridge piece threaded on said bolt.

9. Combined with a closure and an open body to be closed, a threadedstem carried by said closure, and a bridge piece adapted to interlockWith said body and carrying a nut. for the stem, one of said threadedmembers having-a rocking connection with its carrier and provided withmeans'to prevent its rotation relative to said carrier.

10. A closure for clean-out ferrules comprising a 1 plate, a threadedstem carried centrally 0 said plate and adapted to rock therein, and aninterlocking connection between said plate and stem to prevent rot-ationof the parts relative to each other.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JAMES W. SIMPSON, CATHERINE E. MCKEOWN.

